Asbestos
| For more information on Asbestos click here for the relevant chapter of the TUC guide to health and safety "Hazards at Work |
Asbestos is the UK's biggest workplace killer.
The three main types of asbestos - blue, brown and white asbestos - can still be found in the workplace. There is no safe level of exposure and all types are dangerous.
Around 5,000 people die each year from mesothelioma and asbestos related lung cancer - 13 people for every day of the year. These figures are rising and it is predicted that by 2010 some 10,000 people in Britain will die every year from exposure to asbestos, more than twice the number of road accident deaths. Before the death rate declines, up to a quarter of a million people in Britain may have died from asbestos exposures.
There are up to six million tonnes of asbestos in schools, hospitals, ships, offices and factories - and the homes we live in. The importation, supply, and use of all asbestos throughout Britain is prohibited.
The TUC and HSE have jointly produced guidance for safety representatives on managing asbestos and what the law says. It can be found at http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-12793-f0.cfm
Links
TUC Safety Reps' checklist on the duty to manage asbestos
TUC managing asbestos factsheet
The most recent documents available on this subject are:
Asbestos victims expose insurance 'disgrace'
Asbestos victims, their families and workplace justice campaigners have taken their campaign for justice to a major insurance industry event.
PDF version available for download
12 June 2009
Pleural plaques linked to lung cancer
One in eight patients with lung cancer also had pleural plaques, a study has found.
5 June 2009
Asbestos danger message driven home
Residents and maintenance workers are at risk from asbestos because of “huge deficiencies” in the rules covering the management of asbestos in people's homes.
5 June 2009
Unions welcome progress on Pleural Plaques legislation
Unions have welcomed the fact that a Private Members Bill, which is seeking justice for pleural plaques sufferers, has cleared its first Commons hurdle.
PDF version available for download
1 May 2009
Union slams 'grasping' asbestos insurers
Construction union UCATT has reacted furiously to the decision of several large insurance companies to try to block compensation for pleural plaques victims in Scotland.
PDF version available for download
24 April 2009
School asbestos exposure killed teacher
The widow of a senior teacher who died after exposure to asbestos in school science labs has been awarded £290,000 in compensation.
PDF version available for download
3 April 2009
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